Asaph, one of the Levite worship leaders in the tabernacle choir, looked at his life and those around him and penned these verses:
Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness. They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong. This is what the wicked are like — always free of care, they go on amassing wealth. Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence. — Psalm 73 (selected)
On the very last day of the year, as we look around a world that seems to be coming apart at the seams, where guns have replaced God, truth, honesty, decency, and concern for fellow human beings have all fallen out of fashion. It is all about “I,” “me,” and “myself.” Truth has become, “If it is good for me, that is truth.”
Two men shared their life stories with the world on TED Talks:
- The Poetry of Family by Duncan Keagan, April 2025
- A Parent’s Guide to Raising Kids After Loss by Andy Laats, April 2025
(Both are available online.)
Asaph wrote the 73rd Psalm nearly 3,000 years ago; Duncan Keagan and Andy Laats shared the deepest wounds of their hearts in 2025.
Asaph’s conclusion:
I am always with You, God; You hold me by my right hand. You guide me with Your counsel, and afterward You will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides You. — Psalm 73:23-25
When God is truly sovereign through the hills and valleys — through joys and sadness — and when we can say with Paul:
I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. — Philippians 4:12
That is life — glorious life, abundant life. God is in the driver’s seat; I am a mere passenger on this short pilgrimage from this world to where God rules with truth and righteousness.
To Him who is able to keep us from stumbling and to present us before God’s glorious presence without fault and with great joy — to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power, and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.
— Jude 1:24-25